Cleaning Vinyl Records

[ChasW]

I have inherited boxes of old vinyl mostly jazz and classical. My sense is that some are quite rare and potentially saleable. I intend to clean them and inspect for any damage so I can grade them fairly. Any tips for cleaning/products? I have only ever used an anti-static brush and special spray for stubborn marks but that was 20+ years ago.

[ian996]

Cleaning vinyl properly is a bit of a pita. Project and Knosti sell simple wet cleaning kits ( where you just rotate the records in a bath of cleaning fluid and then stand them in a rack which allows the fluid to evaporate). Next step after that is a vacuum cleaner like the Moth units (which is definitely overkill unless the vinyl you are cleaning will make you a fair bit of cash). I used to use one of the knosti antistat units and it definitely is a step forward from spray and wipe , but it takes a few minutes per record.

[Flying machine]

Definitely worth cleaning old vinyl, and even new vinyl for that matter. I used to use a Pro-Ject V2 vacuum cleaner, and still do on occasion. A couple of years ago I bought a HumminGuru ultrasonic, which is my usual 'go to' now. Essentially the HumminGuru is a cheapo version of the Degritter, which I intend to buy at some point, and I bought it as an US cleaner experiment. Totally recommend one. Automation also make the whole task a bit easier. Yes it's a bit of a nuisance, but I just see it as part of choosing vinyl as a source - the whole thing is expensive, time consuming, unnecessarily complex and faffy, and produces variable results. But... When it works, vinyl is magic. IMO

Also worth remembering that these sort of cleaners, whether US or physical contact type, can't restore ruined vinyl that's not been cared for. Obvious I know, but it doesn't remove scratches!

[skylarking808]

You Will definitely get better sales if you grade the records. This is particularly true if you audio test. Most do not and supposedly clean records can play rubbish and visually marked ones can play great sometimes.
As mentioned unless you are a collector or have a large amount to sell it may not be worth the investment for a "proper" machine.

As I have a couple of thousand records I bought an Oki Knoki machine years ago and it has proved to be useful with second hand vinyl. I also use a poncy non alcohol fluid from America that seems to work better than most.